[UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 076-Pastor offers lessons from Super Bowl ads

GRAPEVINE, Texas (UMNS) - A Texas pastor gave members of his
congregation an unusual assignment - watch the Super Bowl and don't
leave the room during the commercials.

"I think the Super Bowl's a cultural event in our society," said the
Rev. Dr. Ken Diehm, pastor of First United Methodist Church of
Grapevine, near Dallas. "And so, I think it provides the church an
opportunity to comment on what is going on in that culture."

Diehm believes there are lessons to be learned in the much-hyped ads.
For the past several years, his post-game sermons have focused on the
advertising.

"One year, I was watching the Super Bowl, and I was watching the
different commercials. It became evident they were telling a story," he
explained.

Those stories are sometimes consistent - and sometimes not - with what
he preaches from the pulpit. On Feb. 11, the Sunday after this year's
NFL championship game, Diehm showed several of the commercials and
discussed their meaning.

A deeper look

First was a Sierra Mist ad featuring a man - who has his beard combed
over his head - being fired.

"It's a funny commercial, talking about how we judge one another by our
appearance," he said.

Diehm said most people spend about an hour a day on their physical
appearance. "You put that much time into how you appear, but how much
time are you putting into your soul, and making your faith with God
stronger?" he asked.

Another commercial promoted a Honda sports utility vehicle, with the
word "crave" morphing into the SUV model name "CR-V."

"Commercials and advertisements seek to get us to crave things we'd
never even thought of before," he said. "We judge people by what they
drive; and somehow we think if someone drives a better car, then they're
a better person. And I think that's in conflict with how God calls us to
live."

Diehm said more commercials this year dealt with social issues, and
applauded one that celebrates Black History Month.

"The Frito-Lay commercial, it's about ... celebrating, I think, the
moment that two black coaches were coaching the Super Bowl," he said.
"And I'm going to talk for a few minutes about how we struggle to look
past skin color."

A different viewpoint

While football game analysis kept many television viewers mesmerized on
Super Bowl Sunday, many in Diehm's 2,300-member church were equally
intrigued by the pastor's Madison Avenue analysis.

"He had a message about how you judge people based on their car, and I
hadn't really thought about that until he said it," said Chris Thompson,
a visitor to the church. "And I definitely think that your first
impression, lots of times in a car or what they dress, you definitely
have an impression right off the bat, which a lot of times is wrong."

Jennifer Tidmore was turned off by some ads that celebrated promiscuous
behavior.

"Some of the commercials were rather racy this year," she said. "One of
the ones that I particularly didn't care for, the message that was
behind it, I was hoping that my sons weren't watching the same
commercial."

Dr. Edgar Lancaster, a longtime member of the church, questioned the
high cost of the Super Bowl ads.

"I think they were pretty good," he said. "I don't think they were worth
two million, two-and-a-half million dollars a 30-second commercial. But
that's OK; I didn't have to pay it."

For 13-year-old William Tohlen, the sermon changed his view of
advertising. "I'll remember the commercials forever and see, like, the
underlying meaning," he said. "I'll look at commercials in a new way."

Diehm believes the Super Bowl assignment scored a touchdown with church
members.

"As they stopped and watched those commercials, in that moment they were
thinking about their faith," he said. "And I think that's a good
thing."

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